Russian speed skater Skobrev to run in 5,000 m Olympic race on his birthday

MOSCOW, January 30. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian speed skater Ivan Skobrev will run in one of his favorite races — 5,000-meter race at the Winter Olympics in the southern Russian city of Sochi on his birthday, February 8. He will turn 31 on the first day of speed skating competition at the Sochi Olympics.

“I hope that at the end of this day I will have two reasons for joy,” Ivan Skobrev told Itar-Tass. “I have serious chances in this situation, therefore, I will try to make a gift not only to myself, but also to the whole country on that day,” he said.

Skobrev has won the bronze medal in the 5,000m race and the silver medal in the 10,000m event at the previous Winter Olympics in Canada’s Vancouver.

The athlete arrived in the Olympic city of Sochi on Thursday, “I have made sure in Sochi once again that if our country decided to host such a large-scale event as the Olympics, everything will be at the highest level. It is comfortable in the Olympic Village, we are offered delicious food, can get quickly here, it is sunny and warm in the street.